


Hidden Meanings

by thatwriterlady



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2016 [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2016, Archangel Gabriel (Supernatural), Castiel Loves Dean Winchester, Castiel worries about Dean, Dean Winchester Loves Castiel, Established Relationship, Fallen Angel, Fluff, Gabriel flirts with Sam Winchester, Gabriel is still an angel, Human Castiel, Love, M/M, Scar Worship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 06:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8478220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Dean has been a hunter for a long time, even after Cas made the decision to leave heaven for him and become human.  He loves his former angel more than anything though, and he knows how much Cas worries about him.  After what should have been a standard dispatching of some ghouls, Dean and Sam both come back a little worse for wear, and after seeing the pain it causes his love, he realizes he has an important decision to make.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I went ahead in time a little. Dean would be in his late 40's/early 50's, and he and Cas have been in a relationship for roughly about 10 years at this point. There is a lot of love here between them, that I hope you pick up on, and Dean isn't as fast as he used to be. I hope you like this one. The prompt was Scar Worship. 
> 
> My logic was, in the show the boys never really have any scars, and I figured it's because Cas is always healing them. But what about if Cas was human? And what if it distressed him to not be able to heal his hunter anymore? That being said, here you go. Enjoy!

**_Day 5: Scar Worship_ **

 

“Cas!  Hey man, where the heck are you?”  Dean limped his way into the war room only to find it empty.  Where the hell _was_ Cas?

 

“Cas!”

 

Nothing.  Muttering under his breath Dean made his way through the bunker and down the hall that lead to his bedroom.  Everything was quiet here too.  Ducking into his room he saw it was empty too.  Where the hell was Cas?

 

“Dean?”

 

He stepped out of his room to see Sam coming down the hall. 

 

“Cas isn’t here.”  Dean knew he sounded pouty but he couldn’t help it.

 

“Did you check your phone to see if he left a message?”  Sam stopped just outside Dean’s door, a hand on his bruised ribs as he watched Dean pull his phone out to check.

 

“It’s dead.  Damn it.”  Dean limped back to his nightstand and plugged the phone in.

 

“I got a message.  Telling me to tell you to check your messages.”  Sam laughed, wincing at the pain that shot through his ribs.  He walked off, leaving Dean to deal with Cas on his own.

 

Dean stripped down to his boxers and took a few minutes to assess his injuries before checking to see if he could turn his phone on or not.  Seeing that he could, he did, and immediately went into his messages.  There were several from Cas.

 

 **Cas 11:02 am:**   Dean, I might not be home when you get back.  I am accompanying my brother Gabriel on his Christmas shopping mission.  I have left dinner for you and Sam.  There is a roast in the crock pot.  If it tastes awful, I apologize.  I followed the recipe in one of the cookbooks you keep on the bookshelf in the kitchen.  Also, your underwear are washed.  I assume you will want to change and shower, so I left you a pair in the bathroom.  I hope to be home before you return but Gabriel insists on looking in every store.  Please text me back when you have a moment so I know you are alright.

 

 **Cas 12:41 pm:**   I am assuming you have not yet found the time to respond.  These were ghouls you were up against.  You should be heading home soon.  Please message me when you get there.  I can’t take much more of Gabriel’s singing.  He is an angel, he should be in tune from millennia spent glorifying our Father and yet he is so off-key he sounds like a drowning cat. 

 

 **Cas 2:49 pm:**   Now I am beyond just concerned.  WHERE ARE YOU?  If I were still an angel I would just come to wherever you are but seeing as how I no longer am I need you to work with me here.  Message me or there will be hell to pay.

 

Dean snickered at the last message.  Ominous threats of punishment.  If he wasn’t in so much pain he’d be amused.  Instead he decided to play it safe and just message the man back.

 

 **Dean 4:18 pm:**   Hey baby, don’t smite me, please, my phone died.  There were more ghouls than we expected and it took us a little longer than we thought it would to dispatch all of them.  I’m in too much pain to go looking for your roast.  Maybe later, after I take something and get a little rest.  Enjoy your time with your brother.  He’s happy to be alive again.  So what if he can’t sing?  Neither can Sam.  Don’t rush home, I’m not going anywhere.

 

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because only a few seconds later his phone was ringing, Cas’ name displayed on the screen.  He groaned in pain as he laid back against the pillows and accepted it.

 

“Dean?  Dean!  You’re hurting, I can hear you moaning.  How bad is it?” 

 

Dean smiled.  Cas was always worried and he hated adding to it.

 

“I’m fine, just a few cuts and bruises.  Maybe a few bruised ribs.”

 

“That is not ok, Dean.  I told Gabriel we are done shopping an hour ago and we just purchased the last of the presents.  We’re 10 minutes from the bunker now.”  Cas was upset and Dean felt guilty about that.  It wasn’t like he’d gone out with the intention of getting hurt.  Sometimes it just happened.  The older he got, the more his body ached, the slower he moved when trying to fight these monsters.  He hadn’t told anyone, not even Cas how much he hurt most of the time now, but he was pretty sure his former angel was fully aware.

 

“You could have just zapped in, you know.  Gabe can do that.”  He laughed, trying to make light of the situation.

 

“You’re right.  Gabriel, get me back to the bunker _now_!”

 

A moment later Dean’s angry boyfriend and Gabriel were standing at the foot of his bed.

 

“And…I’m out.  I’m going to bring the gifts in.”  Gabriel was gone in a flash.  A yelp from further down the hall told them he’d popped in on Sam.  Probably right as he was getting out of the shower.  Cas frowned as he looked down at Dean’s bruised body.  He was still dressed in only his boxers as he hadn’t gotten to take a shower yet.  Every cut, every bruise, every scrape was on full display.  Cas slid his trench coat off and dropped it to the floor as he crawled into the bed.  He kicked off his shoes and carefully knelt down beside his hunter.

 

“Dean, these look awful.”  He gingerly touched a dark bruise that had blossomed across Dean’s ribs on his left side and jerked his fingers back when the man hissed in pain.

 

“They look worse than they are.  I’ve _had_ worse.”  Dean took Cas’ hand.  “It’s ok, baby. I’ll be ok.”

 

“Dean, I want to heal you.  It hurts me to see you like this.” 

 

Dean ignored the pain as he pushed himself into a sitting position. 

 

“I don’t need you to heal me, Cas.  I’ll heal on my own.  But I wouldn’t mind if you joined me in the shower.  Help me wash my back?  Lifting my left arm is kind of painful.”

 

“Of course.”  Cas was already unbuttoning his shirt as he slid off the bed.  By the time he was standing it was open and he tossed it in the general direction of his coat.  His pants hit the floor next.  After pulling his socks off he moved to stand in front of Dean who had just gotten to his feet.

 

“I will start the water.  Do you want it hot?”

 

“Yeah, it’ll help my muscles.”  Dean watched him head into the bathroom and took a deep breath before following him.

 

He wasn’t a mind reader and Cas had never exactly been the best at conveying his emotions with words, but Dean knew the former angel was upset, and that he blamed himself.  He’d wanted to spend time with his brother and had chosen that over helping him and Sam take care of some ghouls that had popped up in Kansas City.  It wasn’t his fault though that Dean had gotten hurt, and he wanted Cas to not only hear that, but to feel it in his heart.  Carefully, after the water had been turned on and the temperature adjusted, Dean moved up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist.  Cas had a soft smile on his lips as he turned to look at him.

 

“I hope you got lots of shopping done today.” 

 

Cas’ smile widened slightly.  “I did.  We found a store downtown that caters in old books, and there were some on the fae and on wendigos and other Native American creatures, so I bought them for Sam.  I believe he will like to add them to his personal library.”

 

“And you’d be right, though I think I want to read that one on the fairies.  They’re temperamental little shits.”

 

Castiel turned around in his arms and pushed Dean’s boxers down.  Dean did the same for him.  Carefully he stepped into the shower and then helped Dean in.

 

“So what did you get me?”  Dean didn’t really want to know but he did want to take Cas’ mind off the injuries he had sustained.

 

“Dean, you know I cannot tell you what I have bought for you.  They are things you will find useful and enjoy, and that is all I will say on that matter.”  Cas’ fingers grazed lightly over a bruise on Dean’s right shoulder.  It was just above a small scar he had received on a fight a few months back.  Truthfully, Dean couldn’t even remember what he had been fighting that he sustained it.  As he watched, Cas placed a tender kiss against the bruise, and then another on the scar.

 

“What are you doing, Cas?” 

 

“Taking care of you.”  Was the answer he received.  Cas was gentle, pouring body wash onto a cloth and gently wiping away the blood and sweat that had dried on Dean’s skin.  The hot water that washed the soap away felt heavenly, but the kisses that followed were even more wonderful. 

 

Since becoming human, Dean had sustained quite a few scars.  Some were smaller, some weren’t.  A gash that had healed after 56 stitches along his right shoulder blade back in ’20 while up against a Lamia, a puckered burn mark after being knocked onto a campfire while hunting a rather nasty ghost in May of ‘22, a bite mark on his right arm from a Rugaru (and that one was luckily not anything worse just last November, and more.  Cas knew each scar intimately.  It had a name, a date, a time he knew he couldn’t protect his beautiful hunter, and each one made his heart ache.  At the same time each one spoke of a time when the man he had come to love with every ounce of his being had done his best to help innocent people in danger, when he had put their lives before his own and had been victorious.  Each scar was a time when Dean came back to him.  His thumb stroked softly over a cut on his wrist.  This one was fresh.  It would become a new scar in time.  He looked up to see Dean watching him.

 

“One of them had a knife.  I still got the best of it, babe.”  Dean said softly.  Cas frowned.  Dean knew that wasn’t good enough for him. 

 

“Hey, it’s ok.  I’m ok.  It’s a few bumps and bruises but I’m ok.” 

 

Cas slipped his arms around Dean’s waist and hugged him as tight as he could without pressing against his bruised ribs.  It wasn’t until Dean’s arms came up around him in return that he finally relaxed.

 

“I know, Cas.  I understand.”  And Dean _did_ understand.  He was getting too old for this.  Him and Sam both.  There were other, younger hunters, faster ones.  He and Sam could offer their guidance, their knowledge, and do their best to make sure they were prepared and didn’t get themselves killed.  Hunting was in his blood, he’d always be a hunter, but he didn’t need to put his life on the line every single time, or put his brother’s life on the line.  Not when he had to come home to the raw pain in the face of the man he had dedicated his life to, that he wanted to spend what time he had left on this earth with.  Seeing Cas in pain tore him apart, and he had promised he would start taking less cases.  He was almost the age Bobby was when he had started hunting with him and Sam.  It was time to slow down.  Cas needed him.

 

“I need you, Dean.”  Cas whispered against his throat and Dean held him a little tighter.

 

“I know, sweetheart, and I’m going to be around more from now on.  Tomorrow I’ll talk to Sam about it.”

 

“Thank you, Dean.”

 

“You have nothing to thank me for.  I made a promise and I plan to keep it.  What do you say we finish up in here and go to bed?”  He wanted to wash the foul smelling ghoul blood out of his hair and then crash for the next 2 days. 

 

With help from Cas he got his hair washed and finally his back.  They made their way back into the bedroom where Cas then helped him into clean clothes.  Just as he was helping Dean into bed, someone knocked at the door.  Cas had at least gotten dressed himself, so he walked to the door and opened it to find Gabriel standing there. 

 

“How’s Dean?”  He asked.  Cas scowled and that was enough for the archangel to know that the hunter was hiding just how much pain he was really in.  He patted his younger brother on the shoulder before walking into the bedroom and right up to the bed.

 

“Uh, hey, what are you doing in here?”  Dean asked as he tried to sit up.  It hurt and the grimace on his face gave away just how much pain he was in.  Gabriel rolled his eyes before pressing 2 fingers to the hunter’s forehead.  The pain was instantly gone.

 

“Oh, uh, thanks.”  Dean was able to sit up then, his eyes darting over to where Cas stood near the door. 

 

“You and Samsquatch finally ready to start taking it easy?”  Gabriel cocked an eyebrow in question.  Dean looked sheepishly up at him.

 

“Yeah, I am.  Gotta talk to Sam about it still, but I’m getting a little too old for this now.  Time to focus on other, more important things.”  He looked to Cas again, pleased to see a smile on the former angel’s face.  Gabriel looked please by his answer as well.

 

“Good.  Don’t go getting yourself killed, Cassie here couldn’t handle it.  I’m going to go.  I’ll see you both on Chrismas morning.  Think I’ll pop in and surprise Sam.”  Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows mischievously which had Dean snorting and shaking his head.

 

“Yeah, go on, get out of here.  Cas and me, we’re going to bed now.”

 

Gabriel winked at his brother before disappearing in a flutter of wings.  Cas had already closed the door and was getting into bed.  Dean turned onto his side and as soon as Cas was under the covers, he pulled him into his arms.

 

“I got you a box set of the Die Hard movies.  All of yours are scratched, and you’re missing the 2nd one in the set.”  Cas whispered once the lights were off and they were snuggled in close to one another.

 

“I love it already.  You going to watch them with me?”  Dean asked.

 

“Of course.”  Cas replied.  Dean smiled.

 

“I love you, Cas.  I got you bulbs for you garden in the spring, but they won’t be here until April.”

 

Cas snuggled in closer and pressed a kiss to his jaw.

 

“Thank you, Dean.  Will you help me to plant them?”

 

“Anything you want, baby.  I’m yours.”

 

Cas smiled as his eyes slid closed.  Ten years ago he had been offered a life here on earth with his hunter, and he had never once regretted it.  Just as he was beginning to drift off they heard a high pitched yelp from down the hall again.

 

“Fucking Gabe.”  Dean muttered, not bothering to open his eyes.

 

“Indeed.”  Cas agreed.  He’d have to talk to his brother later about popping in like that on Sam.  But that was a conversation for another day.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading, and for sticking with me through this challenge. The next prompt is: Making Fun of One Another
> 
> See you all tomorrow...


End file.
